


My Head Is An Animal

by Insert_Creative_Name_Here



Category: Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Boba Fett Needs A Hug, CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Hopeful Ending, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I need a hug, I'll build the Rex & Boba Fett tag myself if i have to, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Light Angst, RIP, again i haven't watched rebels yet so if the characters are ooc feel free to yell at me about it, can you tell i want a hug, i think i put in more quarantine angst than i meant too, no beta we die like everyone Rex is close to, the continuing saga of Cody being important to my fics and yet having no lines, this got out of hand, uhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 13:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29065368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Insert_Creative_Name_Here/pseuds/Insert_Creative_Name_Here
Summary: When Rex walks into an empty bar on some random backwater planet three years after the fall of the Republic, the last thing he's expecting to see is a clone cadet.
Relationships: Boba Fett & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-21-0408 | CT-1409 | Echo & CT-7567 | Rex, CT-7567 | Rex & CC-3636 | Wolffe
Comments: 14
Kudos: 113





	My Head Is An Animal

**Author's Note:**

> I was already writing a Rex and Boba fic because that's a criminally underrated pairing, and then the Bad Batch trailer came out and I got inspired. This took a ridiculously long time to write. I jumped between horrible writer's block and writing 6k of this in one weekend. Send help.
> 
> Mando'a translations in the end notes.

When Rex walks into a bar on some random backwater planet three years after the fall of the Republic, the last thing he's expecting to see is a _clone cadet_.

He's seen some weird things over the years, The Zillo Beast, control chips, brothers popping up years after they'd supposedly died, literally everything about the _jetti,_ but this random clone cadet looking completely at home in a bar three years after the fall of the Republic almost manages to take the cake.

Almost. Rex's _jetti_ were weird.

Anyway. The cadet sits at a bar with shady figures on both sides of them that Rex recognizes as bounty hunters that he'd seen in the news, but they don't seem agitated or alarmed. They're not wearing clone trooper armor, nor are they wearing stormtrooper armor - Rex hates the thought. No, the cadet is wearing _Mandalorian_ armor. It's small to fit their tiny body, smaller than any real armor that Rex has ever seen, but there's no mistaking the glint of beskar or the distinctive helmet.

How in the galaxy did this _cadet_ come across _beskar?_ How did they survive the fall of the Republic, the control chips, hells, _Kamino?_

Unless this isn't a cadet. Rex looks again, notes the shape of the cadet's face, the alterations made by the Kaminoans that are missing from their frame, the eyes-

This is Boba Fett. Prime's kid.

Rex won't interfere. He won't. Boba's on a different path from him. He's hanging around bounty hunters, and Rex is a wanted fugitive. And the Prime was always adamant that Boba was different from the rest of them.

Rex isn't going to interfere - until he sees Boba leave the bar alone to hear back to the Prime's ship. Slave I.

Boba's a kid. Only sixteen. He shouldn't be alone in the galaxy.

Curse Rex's bleeding heart.

" _Boba_ ," he whispers, hidden behind a tree. He _really_ doesn't want to get himself shot by a trigger-happy teenager.

Boba whirls around, a blaster pistol in his hand. "Who's there?"

Rex slowly emerges from behind the tree with his hands up, helmet clipped to his belt.

"You're a clone," Boba says. His voice wavers for a split second, but it's strong again when he asks, "What do you want?"

"I want to make sure you're alright, Boba. A sixteen year old shouldn't be traveling the galaxy alone."

Boba's grip on the blaster tightens. "I'm fine. How do you even know who I am?"

"Do you remember Cody?" Rex asks, his voice cracking at the thought of Cody stuck in the Empire somewhere, a slave to his own mind; but he powers on when Boba nods. "He was the Prime's protégé, besides you. I was his protégé."

"What do you want with me, then," Boba scowls. "Aren't you supposed to be with the Empire?"

Rex hesitates. "It's… a long story, to say the least. And you're sixteen and traveling alone. I don't care how good you are at fighting, that's a really bad idea."

"I can fend for myself. And you're younger than me."

"Yeah, but I don't look the part."

Boba sighs. "Don't you have something better to do? Clones to find?"

"I don't have a ship."

"So you want to fly with _me?_ "

"It wasn't my first plan, but yes." He can get Boba to let them travel together. He knows he can.

"I'm a bounty hunter. And you're a fugitive."

"Good point," Rex says, turning around. "I'll find someone else to get me off planet."

"Wait!" Boba says. There it is. "You can stay. I need someone to help around the ship."

Now _those_ are the words of someone who's incredibly lonely. Rex would know. He left Ahsoka a few weeks ago, and hasn't spoken to many people since.

"Alright, kid," he says.

"Don't call me kid."

Yeah. This will be fun.

* * *

"This is your fault, Boba," Rex says.

"Shut up."

Rex knows that Boba has enemies. Amateur bounty hunter as Boba is, it's still one of the most dangerous professions in the galaxy, outshined only by having a bounty on your head or being an Imperial stormtrooper.

Rex definitely didn't know that _he_ had enemies. Or that they shared any.

He's been captured before. It came with the position of being General Skywalker's second-in-command. He's been tortured, enslaved, and thrown in any number of shitty situations.

But this? This is _ridiculous_.

They'd been chasing a bounty, going into some nondescript building where their bounty had supposedly been hiding when something rolled towards them. Rex had been behind Boba, so he hadn't gotten a chance to see what it was before Boba was tackling him to the ground and the building was blowing up.

They woke up tied to a wall in some dark room. Apparently they'd been captured by the henchmen of some former Seperatist that both Rex and Boba had managed to individually piss off. The henchmen told them that their boss would be coming to kill them soon, them left them alone.

Great.

It had been Boba's bounty that they were chasing, so it kind of _is_ his fault, but when Rex glances to where Boba is chained up beside him and sees him slumping in obvious guilt, he relents.

"Sorry," Rex says. It isn't- you had no way of knowing this would happen."

Boba jerks up, glaring at Rex. "I don't need pity. Not from _you_." He spits the last word like it's a curse. Rex should probably be offended, but he's learned over these past few months that Boba's temper when he's angry doesn't reflect his real feelings.

"You're my brother, Boba," he says.

"I'm not."

"You are. And the Clone War is over. You don't have to separate yourself from us anymore."

Boba is silent, staring off into space. The seconds stretch into minutes, and Rex starts to think that the conversation is over, that Boba's just going to ignore him until their captor arrives, but Boba speaks again.

" _Buir_ , he always put me in a legion in my own. He made sure I knew that I was different from all of you. I was his legacy. I knew the Alpha and Command classes, obviously, but _buir_ was really all I had in the world. Then he died, and all I had left was the idea that I was better than the rest of you. That was my entire identity, and I had to prove that, somehow."

Rex wants to say something, to give some words of comfort, but Boba's never opened up like this before, and he's a bit scared that is he interrupts, then Boba will close himself off again, and Rex will lose his only chance to really understand him.

"It's bullshit, I realize now," Boba continues. "I spent my years off of Kamino being terrified that someone would find out that I was a clone, and that they'd treat me different because I was somehow less of a person than them. And then I'd turn around and treat you like shit because you were _modified_ in the growth tank and I wasn't. I was no better than all of the people calling us meat droids."

"That's not the same thing," Rex says, the gut instinct to _comfort_ kicking in even though it kind of is. Even so, he notices that Boba said _us. Us,_ referring to the clones as a whole. Not _you_.

"It is, though," Boba says. "I was so wrapped up in being someone else that I didn't realize how _stupid_ I was being and - I don't know. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I treated you over the past few months and how I acted during the war, and I know it's too little to late but I'm sorry. I want to make up for it. I want to do _something_ to help our brothers but I don't know how."

"I forgive you."

Boba startles. "What?"

"I do," Rex says. "I forgive you. You've done some bad things, but you want to make up for them. You want to _help_ , and that shows growth. When we first met, you didn't care. Our brothers were imprisoned and you _didn't care,_ but now you do and you want to help. You've changed, Boba, and that's what matters."

"Thanks," Boba says, a faint smile on his face. It's the first time he's seen Boba smile, Rex realizes, and he can feel the lingering tension between them evaporate.

Footsteps ring in the hallway. Their captor, no doubt, here to kill them.

"Time to escape?" Rex asks.

Boba smiles, straightening up in a way that Rex _knows_ will go on to terrify anyone that Boba tracks down as a bounty hunter. "Let's do this."

* * *

Rex and Boba have been traveling together for six months. Boba is seventeen and Rex is sixteen but looks thirty-two, and he's starting to worry that he won't see the end of this new war.

"This is going to sound insane," he says one night over a dinner of ration bars. Almost four years out of the army and they still taste like sawdust.

"Bring it," Boba says.

"I've heard rumors that the Kaminoans made a serum to slow our aging back to baseline. One year per year, instead of two."

Boba's eyes widen. He hasn't said anything about it, but Rex knows that Boba's scared of outliving him. Of being the last brother alive, even though he's the oldest. "You want to go get it," he says.

Rex nods. "It'll be a risk, and I don't even know if it's _true,_ but-"

"Let's do it," Boba says, and Rex knows he's remembering their conversation in the Separatist's cell and his desire to help. "We'll do some research, see what we can find, but if it's out there, we'll get it."

* * *

Four months, three destroyed Imperial ships, and two rescued brothers later, Rex is woken up in the middle of the night by a triumphant shout. At first, he thinks it's Gregor, but then Boba drops down from the ceiling and runs to Rex's bunk.

"Sorry for waking you up," Boba says, even though Rex knows that he's not sorry at all, "but I found it."

"…what?" Rex manages to slur out. He hasn't slept in three days and he was really looking forward to a full night's sleep, _Boba_.

"The aging reversal serum. It exists. _I found it._ "

All traces of exhaustion leave Rex's brain as he sits up, just barely remembering that Wolffe's bunk is really close to his, but he manages to avoid hitting his head. "Where is it?"

"On Kamino, like we thought. There's some transmissions between Nala Se and some high-up in the Empire about an aging cure. They don't care about keeping us alive longer, just about _extending the use of the product._ " Boba's lip curls in disgust, and Rex is briefly overtaken by the urge to go to Kamino, find Nala Se, and punch her in the neck.

"So that's that, then," he says. "We're going?"

"Obviously."

* * *

They leave Wolffe and Gregor behind with the ship when they land on Kamino. Rex loves Gregor, he truly does, but he isn't suited for stealth missions anymore. And Wolffe is just as likely to throw himself at a squadron of stormtroopers and not care about the outcome as he is to be actually helpful.

If Rex isn't doing this to himself, he's doing it for them. Wolffe and Gregor deserve to have a chance at a full life, even though he isn't sure if they want it.

Sneaking onto Kamino, and then Tipoca City is _ridiculously_ easy. Both Rex and Boba have a lot of experience with sneaking around Tipoca City specifically - Boba because of his near immunity to Kaminoan-related punishments, Rex because of his blond hair and adoption by Cody - and they barely have to use their combined knowledge of the air vents.

They knock out two random stormtroopers, stealing their armor. Then, they literally just _walk through the front door_ and they're in Tipoca City.

Rex hasn't been here since the Battle of Kamino almost six years ago, and the nostalgia isn't really doing it for him. Every hallway holds a memory, the ghost of a brother he'll never see again. Ponds, lost to Boba. Kix, lost in the galaxy somewhere. Fives, lost to Palpatine. Jesse, Bly, Cody, lost to the Empire.

If Rex wasn't on a stealth mission, he'd curl up in a ball and cry.

Boba taps him on the shoulder, a subtle reminder to stay in the moment. Right. Rex takes a few deep breaths, then shoves his emotions into a box and locks it. He's a blank karking wall.

Maybe they're being overly cautious, stealing stormtrooper armor instead of just sneaking in, looping security footage instead of just shooting the cameras, checking every corner twice before they turn; but they need to make sure they can come back. However many doses they manage to steal today won't be enough, especially if they're going to go through with Rex's _other_ plan.

They make it to the cure room without issue. Occasionally, they pass stormtroopers in the hallway, although much less frequently than they should. The Kaminoans are getting cocky, Rex realizes. They played both sides of the Clone Wars. They think they're invincible.

Good for them. It just makes them easier to rob.

A voice rings from inside the cure room, and Rex's blood runs cold.

_Nala Se_.

Boba freezes, and Rex pulls him out of view of the door. They've already looped the footage from the security camera nearby - not that anyone's going to check it that closely - and no one comes down here on the regular.

No one, apparently, besides Nala _karking_ Se.

"We can't make enough of these to use on every product. That's simply implausible," she says. There's a pause as someone presumably responds - she must be on a comm with someone - "They are inferior in every way to an actual person. They are getting old and slowing down. I do not see the point in extending their lifespans. What can you get from them that you cannot get from someone else?"

Another pause. " _Training?_ You want to train new soldiers on my planet?"

That's going to make getting back onto Kamino at later dates significantly harder. Security will probably be bumped up, too. Rex will have to plan for that.

"Fine," Nala Se says to her comm. "But twenty clones is not a lot, especially if you want a whole army trained," she pauses, and then: "We can work with forty-five, if we must."

Rex's brain is moving at a million miles an hour. They're already planning on coming back to Kamino, and if there's going to be _vod'e_ here-

Nala Se hangs up her call, and her footsteps move closer to the door. Rex pulls Boba around the corner and down the hall that they'd come from, flattens himself against the wall like _that's_ going to help him not be seen, and prays to something - he's not entirely sure _what_ he's praying to, but it's definitely _something_ \- that Nala Se walks down the other hallway.

Rex can't actually see what she does. Boba's blocking his view of the rest of the hallway, and he's too scared to crane his neck to see past him. It's a tense thirty seconds that feels like an hour before Boba taps his wrist twice - their predetermined code for _all clear_.

"She went the other way," he whispers. "I don't know how she didn't see us, but she went the other way."

"Let's get in and out of here before she comes back," Rex says. He steps out from behind Boba and they turn the corner to see that the door to the cure room is closed. Rex is a horrible slicer, but Boba picked up the skill specifically for this mission, and he gets to work. It isn't long before the door opens, and they're greeted with the sight of shelves of syringes of the aging cure.

"We can only take a few," Rex says. "Three or four, enough so that they won't notice that they're gone."

Boba nods. He picks up five of the syringes, wraps them in cloth, and puts them in one of his belt pockets. Rex rearranges the remaining cures, spacing them out so it looks like nothing's changed.

"Let's get out of here," Boba says. "I hate this planet."

* * *

One year later and Rex is running a Force damned halfway house.

He's not going to lie to himself and say that Seelos is a nice planet. It's not. It's empty and desolate and completely covered in salt. And the Empire won't touch it. It's exactly what they need.

Him, Wolffe, and Gregor are aging normally now. The cure worked, thank the Force, and now that Rex actually has a life to live, he wants to do something more with it. So Boba dropped them all off on Seelos a few months ago, and Rex put phase two of his plan into action.

They'd stolen two _vod'e_ off of a small Imperial transport ship on their way to Seelos and given them their extra cures. They're fairly messed up mentally, of course, and Rex, Wolffe, and Gregor aren't exactly doing any better. They all need some time to rest, put themselves back together.

So they land on Seelos and try to learn how to live again.

It's the longest that Rex has ever been in one place since before the war. He's restless, and when Boba shows up every few weeks bringing news of the Empire and a freed _vod_ or two, it's all that Rex can do not to get back on Slave I and leave.

He never does, though. He needs to be here. His _vod'e_ need help, and he won't leave them. It's not like he hates what he's doing, he doesn't, it's just-

Seelos is quiet. And Rex's mind is screaming.

He has so many regrets. Fives, Cody, the 332nd, not sticking with Skywalker, letting Ahsoka go. His _vod'e_ help just by being there, but he can't help missing how things used to be.

He hates being nostalgic for a war.

"Rex!" a voice rings out, springing him from his thoughts. Eni, one of the _vod'e_ they'd pulled from the Imperial transport, comes running into the AT-TE. "Boba's here. He's brought a whole other ship, too. I think it's got _vod'e_ on it," xe says.

"Thanks, Eni," Rex says. He has a soft spot for Eni and Caya - the other transport _vod_ , as he's taken to referring to them. They were barely off of Kamino, fresh faces to the 91st when the war ended. With their chips out, they're shinies, just kids.

He should know better, by now, not to get attached to the shinies, but he can't help himself. Bleeding heart, and all that.

Caya's already at _Slave I_ when he steps outside. Boba's nowhere to be seen - probably getting supplies from his ship.

"How many?" Rex asks.

"Just one," Caya says as Boba emerges from _Slave I_ with a _vod_ on a stretcher.

"Bring them inside," Rex says to Caya. She nods. "Boba, did you already do the removal?"

Boba shakes his head. "Didn't have time. I ran into these idiots when I was trying to get the trooper out. They blew up the outpost, and I had to come here."

Rex takes a good look at the other ship. It looks vaguely familiar, like he'd seen it before, but it wasn't memorable enough to make a lasting impression. The shape, the wings, the dents, none of it looks like a ship he'd recognize. Then his eyes land on the pinup art, and it hits him.

"Is that the _Havoc Marauder?_ " he asks.

Boba snorts. "Yeah, I figured you knew them. They were all too happy to come with me when I mentioned that you'd be here."

The doors of the _Havoc Marauder_ open, and a figure in black and red comes rushing out. Before he can really register what's happening, he's engulfed in a hug. On instinct, he wraps his arms around their body, and is surprised to see that he recognizes them.

_Echo_.

A choked sob forces it's way out of his mouth as he tightens his grip on Echo. Echo rests his head on Rex's shoulder, Rex buries his face in Echo's regrown hair, and they just stand there. There's something special about a hug from another member of the 501st, from someone so close to him as Echo.

Rex doesn't know how long they stand there, just hugging, but eventually they pull back. Echo looks better than the last time Rex saw him, leaving with the Bad Batch after the battle of Anaxes. His skin is darker, he's not horrifyingly skinny anymore, and he's grinning widely as he looks at Rex, instead of that haunted, empty look he'd had when they'd pulled him out of that stasis chamber.

"It's good to see you again," Echo says. "I mean, the others are great, but-"

"It's good to see a familiar face," Rex says. "I know."

"I mean, _technically,_ every one of our faces is a familiar face."

Rex glares at Echo, but he can't keep up the charade for long, and a helpless smiles spreads across his face.

Echo gasps dramatically. "You _do_ know how to smile!"

"Shut up, _vod'ika_ ," he says, but there's no heat behind his words. He's missed Echo, with his dry wit and hypocritical love of regs.

"So where have you guys been in the past few years?" he asks, changing the subject. Even with Boba's ever growing list of bounty hunter contacts, they haven't been able to find any news of the Bad Batch. For all intents and purposes, they'd disappeared right after Echo joined them.

Echo winces. "We got recalled to Kamino right after Order 66. They gave us an aging cure almost as soon as we arrived. We figured something was up when they wouldn't talk about the Jedi, so Tech and I did some digging, and we found your report on Fives. Turns out, the others' mutations and the chips don't really work together, and my chip was removed when I was captured. We left after finding that out. We've been trying to make a living as mercenaries, and we're destroying Imperial property whenever we can."

"I'm glad you're okay. And the others, too. How are they holding up?" Rex may not get along with the other members of the Bad Batch, but _vod'e_ are _vod'e,_ and petty rivalries are something he's learned to put in the past.

"They're surviving," Echo says. "It's all we can do. Hunter's holding us together as best as he can, but it's getting harder and harder to find reasons to be optimistic. Though, I think this-" he gestures to Rex's makeshift mental hospital "-may help. We haven't seen any _vod'e_ outside of ourselves in years. It's nice for us - all of us - to remember that there's other people out there."

Rex did notice, recently, that with every _vod_ that Boba drops off, he gets marginally happier. It isn't a lot - it's only been a year - but it's something.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Echo asks.

"We're like a halfway house. Boba brings us _vod'e_ he finds while he's out in the galaxy. We take out their chips and give them an aging cure if we have one. Then we just help them learn how to live again, if we can. How to be people. And if they want to leave, they leave with Boba the next time he comes around."

"That's… actually a really good idea," Echo says. "I would _not_ have thought of that."

"Thanks."

"If we find any _vod'e,_ can we bring them here?"

"You really think I'd say no to that?"

"No, but I just wanted to be sure," Echo says. "Wait, did you say you had aging cures? How in the galaxy did you come across those?"

"Well," Rex starts, but he's interrupted by Boba sauntering over to the two of them and leaning his elbow on Rex's shoulder. Boba's had a growth spurt recently, and he's finally looking like he's actually eighteen.

" _I_ have been periodically breaking onto Kamino," Boba says, with all of the manufactured arrogance of a Sith Lord.

"Why am I not surprised," Echo says. "If Rex is hanging out with you, you've got to be at least marginally insane."

"Hey," Rex says.

"Am I wrong, though?"

He sighs. "No. You're not."

"How did you break onto _Kamino_ \- multiple times, may I add - and not get caught?" Echo asks.

Boba starts to respond, but Rex's mind starts to wander. He can't remember the last time he's been this content - happy, even. For a minute, he forgot about the war, about everything, and he let himself enjoy the presence of his brothers.

Things finally feel like they're picking up.

* * *

It's been fifteen years since the fall of the Republic, and things on Seelos are starting to slow down.

The Empire doesn't care about its soldiers. Stormtrooper armor is no better than paper, and the aging cure only gets administered to those in training positions on Kamino. The clones are dying out.

Boba still makes his visits, but he hasn't brought a _vod_ in ages. Without the cure, there's barely a chance that any clone would last this far.

Nothing interesting has happened on Seelos in months, so when Rex hears blasterfire, he thinks that Wolffe is just fighting a joopa. Then he hears yelling in a voice that is distinctly _not_ a clone's.

Rex jolts up and runs outside to see Wolffe firing on a group of people in front of the AT-TE, and one of the newcomers fighting back with a lightsaber.

He hasn't seen a lightsaber in years. The man using it doesn't look like a Jedi, at least not any he knows, but then again it _has_ been fifteen years, and every Jedi he knows is dead-

And Wolffe is still firing at them.

"Wolffe," he says, putting a hand on his shoulder. That seems to snap him out of his trance-like state, and he puts his blaster down.

"Sorry about that," Rex says. "None of us have seen a Jedi in years."

"Which is _your fault_ ," the Jedi says. He's definitely old enough - and angry enough - to be a purge survivor. The Jedi didn't know about the chips, so he can't really blame this man for being angry, but it hurts, a bit, to be accused of murder on sight.

Not that he hasn't killed people. He has, and he regrets it every day.

"It isn't our fault," he responds. "It was the Emperor. He put chips in our heads that took away our free will. Some of us got them out, and we came here. But that's not what you're here for, is it?"

A blue haired kid steps forward. "We were sent to find a military commander. Do the numbers 7567 mean anything to you?"

"Yeah," Rex says. It's been a long time since he's heard those numbers. "That's my number, but call me Rex."

"Cool!" the kid says. "I'm Ezra, and that's Kanan-" he gestures to the Jedi "-and they're Zeb and Sabine." He points to a Lasat and a Mandalorian behind them.

"This is Wolffe," Rex says, gesturing in his direction, "and Gregor's inside somewhere."

"We were sent by Ahsoka Tano," Kanan says, still glaring at them. "She told us to trust you, so I will. But I don't like this."

"I don't like this either," Wolffe says. "So I think we're even."

"Ahsoka sent you?" Rex asks. It's been years since he's seen her. Right before he met Boba, they'd split up. They'd decided that it was safer to stay alone.

Rex knew it was really because Ahsoka couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. He didn't blame her. Still doesn't.

"Yeah," Sabine says. "She says you're a great military commander."

"I am. So is Wolffe. We both served in the Clone Wars. I was Captain of the 501st Legion."

"I was Commander of the 104th," Wolffe pipes up.

"Would you like to come inside?" Rex asks. "It's colder."

Ezra, Sabine, and Zeb all look at Kanan, who's still glaring at Rex and Wolffe like he's trying to light them on fire with his eyes.

"Fine," Kanan says. "But if you start trying to shoot me-"

"We won't," Rex says. "I can promise you that."

Kanan nods warily, and his group enters the AT-TE.

"What battalion did you fight in, Kanan?" Rex asks. "We've taken care of a lot of _vod'e_ throughout the years. We might've housed someone you knew."

Sabine stiffens at the use of Mando'a. Outwardly Mandalorian as she is, the ruined state of Mandalore and its inhabitants doesn't make for good history lessons. Especially about the clones.

"I was with the 109th," Kanan says. "General Billaba. Commander Grey."

Oh, Rex remembers the 109th. Remembers their close to full-battalion wipe by Grievous, and their restructuring months later. He remembers Grey talking about Billaba's padawan. He'd loved the kid, but his name hadn't been Kanan. It'd been- "Caleb," Rex says. He hears Kanan's sharp intake of breath. "Your name was Caleb."

"I go by Kanan now," he says, voice so obviously forcibly flat.

Rex nods. "I don't think we had anyone from the 109th."

"We didn't," Wolffe confirms. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Kanan says. "I wasn't with them for long, anyway."

"So you said Ahsoka sent you here to find us. You need a military commander. Why?" Rex asks.

"We're fighting the Empire," Ezra blurts out. "They destroyed our last base, and we need a new one."

"How are _we_ supposed to help you with that?" Wolffe asks

"She said that one of you knew a lot about the Outer Rim, and that you'd be able to help us find a new base," Sabine says.

Rex and Wolffe exchange a glance. "That'd be me," Rex says. "I fought mostly in the Outer Rim."

"Yeah, I did search and rescue pretty much everywhere, and Gregor spent most of the war washing dishes," Wolffe says. "You're looking for Rex."

"So you'll help?" Zeb asks.

"Depends on what you need out of me," Rex says. "Do you just want me to name-drop a planet or two, or do you want me to come with you?"

"I believe Ahsoka wanted you to come with us. Maybe join the Rebellion, if you wanted to. It isn't much right now, but we're recruiting," Kanan says.

Well. He _has_ been wanting some more action lately.

"I'll have to think about joining you," he says. "But I can definitely give you a planet or two."

"Why don't you stay for dinner," Wolffe says. "It's getting late. We can talk more then." It's a thinly veiled excuse for Wolffe and Rex to be able to leave the room and talk, but Rex finds he's grateful.

"We'll get it ready," he adds on. "Kanan, you can explain to your team why you hate us so much, if you want." There. That gives the rebels a reason to let them leave the room.

"Sure," Kanan says. "As long as it isn't ration bars."

Rex shudders. "Never again."

"Do you want to leave, _vod'ika?_ " Wolffe asks when they're out of the room.

"I don't know. I won't lie, I am getting restless, and I _do_ want to see Ahsoka again, but I don't want to just leave you here."

"Don't make your decisions because of me, Rex."

"You could come with me," he says, even though he already knows the answer. Wolffe won't come. Gregor won't, either. He'd made it _very_ clear a few years back that he's done with fighting.

Wolffe laughs. "I'm good. I've seen enough war for a lifetime. And besides, someone has to keep this place going in case Boba brings someone by."

"Wolffe…" Rex trails off.

"I know, I know. No one else is coming, but I can dream."

Rex sighs. "I'll go, then."

"Good luck, _Rex'ika._ "

They make dinner. It's nothing fancy, just some joopa meat and vegetables that Boba brought over, but it's not ration bars, and that's all that matters.

"Hold on, Rex," Wolffe says when they're about to reenter the main room.

"Yeah?"

"I know it probably won't happen, but if you manage to find Cody or Bly-"

"I'll bring them here."

When they enter the room, Kanan immediately gets up to help them with the plates, and Rex recognizes it for what it is - a gesture of peace.

"I'll go with you," Rex says, and Kanan smiles.

* * *

Rex and the Spectres are just about to head back to Atollon after a mission when Rex's comm goes off. When he checks it, there's a message from Boba.

In the months since Rex left Seelos, they haven't talked much. they just haven't had time. Rex is busy running around the galaxy, chasing Imperial targets and being chased by the Empire in return; Boba's been trying to build up a rapport with some higher-ups in the Imperial ranks, both to get valuable information on their inner workings that he can pass off to Rex, and to steal any _vod'e_ he might find.

The message from Boba is short. _Meet on Cadera. I picked up two_ vod'e _. You're gonna want to see them._ A string of coordinates is attached, pointing to his exact location.

"Hera," Rex speaks up. "Mind if we make a quick stop on Cadera? A contact of mine just commed me. He has something to give me." Rex has taken to calling Boba 'his contact' over the past few months. Boba's not with the Empire, sure, but he's also not strictly with the Rebellion. He does his best to remain fully neutral, and because of this, he'd be a terrifying presence to the Rebellion if Rex ever decided to have them meet.

Normally, Rex would just wait until they got back to Atollon before leaving to meet Boba, but something about the message makes him not want to wait. The Spectres can handle a morally gray bounty hunter. He has faith in them.

"Alright," Hera says. "Is this person trustworthy?"

Rex nods. "I trust him with my life."

"Okay. Let's go, then."

* * *

Sabine starts swearing as soon as they land on Cadera. "Karking _osik_ , that's _Slave I_. We're kriffed."

"What?" Ezra asks. "Why is that such a bad thing?"

"That's a _bounty hunter's ship!_ " she hisses. "It belong to the most dangerous bounty hunter in the galaxy!"

Rex just barely manages to contain his laughter. "Yeah, it does. Let's go."

" _What?_ You know who's ship that is and you're just going to _go up to it?_ "

"I did mention that my contact would be meeting us here, didn't I?"

"Your contact is _Boba karking Fett?_ "

Kanan sighs. "Really, Rex?" Oh, he gets it. Kanan's worked around clones before. He knows who Jango Fett is.

Rex laughs. "Hey, you don't have to come with me. But I'm going."

"Oh, no. We're coming. I don't trust him not to shoot you," Sabine says.

"He won't, but okay."

The whole crew follows him outside of the _Ghost_. It'd be annoying, if this wasn't shaping up to be the funniest encounter he's had with anyone in years.

When the door to _Slave I_ opens, Rex ignores Sabine's gasp of horror, walks right up to it, and catches the syringe when it comes flying at his face.

"Could you be any less delicate with these?" he asks. "We only have a limited amount."

"I knew you'd catch it," Boba's voice echoes from in his ship, and another syringe comes flying at Rex's head. He catches it.

"And what if I didn't?"

"Then I'd make fun of you for being old."

"If I'm old, what does that make you?"

Boba emerges from his ship in full armor and with two _vod'e_ on stretchers floating behind him, and even though the Spectres are behind him, Rex swears he can feel them tense. "Oh, so you're finally admitting you're younger than me?" Boba says.

"Only to make fun of you," Rex retorts. "Who are the _vod'e?_ "

"I know one of them, but the other isn't any Alpha or Command _vod_ that I recognize. Maybe you do." Boba gestures to the _vod_ on his right, and Rex walks over to look at them.

Their helmet is already off, and Rex's eyes are drawn to the only distinguishing thing about them - a tattoo of a stylized sun on the right side of their forehead.

Rex recognizes him, of course he does. "Attie," he says.

"You know him?" Boba asks.

"Yeah. He was a part of Torrent. One of seven survivors of the Teth massacre, not including myself. It's only fitting that he'd last this long."

Boba laughs. "Go look at the other _vod._ "

"…why? Didn't you say you already know who it is?"

"Just do it. Trust me."

"Alright," Rex says, walking around Boba to the other clone.

He stops dead in his tracks. One glance at their face, and he already knows who it is.

_Cody._

"How?" he asks. He'd given up hope on finding Cody years ago, when Boba had stopped bringing _vod'e_ to Seelos. Maybe before that, even.

"I was feeling bored, so I went to Kamino to steal some cures, and the stormtrooper I knocked out to steal their armor was a _vod._ Attie. So I knocked out his partner, and it was Cody. I knew you'd want to see them."

"Thank you," Rex says. "I assume you haven't taken out their chips?"

"Yeah, I haven't. My medical supplies aren't the best right now. I figured it was safer to bring them to you, and then Seelos."

"Smart."

"Okay," Sabine blurts out. "Is _anyone_ going to explain what the _hell_ is going on here?"

Rex turns around to see the _Ghost_ crew just standing there, staring at him. He raises an eyebrow. This is going to be good.

"That's _Boba Fett_. And you're just talking to him? _Casually?_ "

"Yeah," Rex says. "He's my brother."

"But you're a clone," Ezra says.

"And who's the genetic template for the clones?" Boba asks. Rex can _hear_ the shit-eating grin on his face.

"Jango Fett," Kanan says. "You're the unaltered clone he asked for as payment, aren't you?"

"Yep." Boba takes of his helmet. "How'd you know that?"

"My Commander mentioned it at some point. Commander Grey."

"Grey," Boba says, snapping his fingers. "That was…"

"CC-10/994," Rex says.

"He got his name after Geonosis, then?"

"During Geonosis, I think."

"Makes sense."

"Are you _insane?_ " Sabine says. "He's a bounty hunter. A bad guy. He works for the _Empire!"_

"I don't work for the Empire," Boba says. "I'm trying to get information on them, so _you_ can take them down. And I'm not a bad guy. The lines in war get blurred. Not all bad guys work for the bad guys."

"Yeah, there were plenty of bad people on the Republic's side of the Clone Wars," Rex says.

"Oh yeah?" Sabine asks. "Like who?"

"Jedi Master Pong _kriffing_ Krell."

"Nala Se," Boba adds.

"Half of the Senate."

"Grand Moff Tarkin."

"Palpatine," they say together.

"Okay, okay. I get the point," Sabine says.

"Didn't you kill a bunch of people after the Clone Wars?" Zeb asks.

"Yeah," Boba says. "I'm a better person now."

"You're a bounty hunter," Ezra says.

"For the last time, 'bounty hunter' and 'bad person' aren't synonyms. And I don't take bounties for people that don't deserve it. Rex has, like, seven bounties on his head right now, and you don't see me turning him in."

"You couldn't take me in, even if you wanted to," Rex says. "I'd beat you in a straight fight."

Boba narrows his eyes. "Well now I'm tempted to try."

Rex knows he won't, but even with the threat of a fight, the Spectres seem less tense. It's what he was aiming for with his bickering. If there's one thing he's learned from his struggles to get the _vod'e_ recognized as people, it's that few things humanize a person quicker than banter.

He'll let them bicker. There are sides of each other that they need to see.

* * *

Rex is sitting with the Spectres and Kallus on the _Ghost_ when his comm rings.

"It's Boba," he says. "I'll leave."

"You don't have to," Hera says. "If it's important, then we could help."

"Alright," Rex says, pressing the 'accept' button.

"You want me to betray my _vod'e,"_ Boba's voice says, carefully flat.

"It wouldn't be the first time you've done so. Old habits die hard," says a voice that can only be, Rex realizes with a dawning sense of horror, Darth Vader.

"That was almost two decades ago," Boba says. "And people change, asshole. You did."

That… doesn't make sense. Unless Boba somehow knows Darth Vader's identity?

"I was trying to save my wife," Vader says.

"Yeah, and you only had to kill all of the Jedi to do it."

"It was a necessary sacrifice."

Boba sputters. "Kriff, you sound like _teenage_ _me._ That's a horrible thing to sound like, Skywalker."

_Oh._

Rex never did find out what happened to Anakin Skywalker.

"Anakin Skywalker is dead," Vader says. This can't be Skywalker. It can't. He'd had his bad days, sure, but he'd never turn into _this_.

Obviously he's kriffing _not_ ," Boba says. "Since you're standing right here."

"Silence, you insolent brat." There's the _snap-hiss_ of an activating lightsaber, and Rex's heart skips a beat.

Then there's another _snap-hiss_ , but Vader's only ever had one lightsaber.

"Where did you get that," Vader asks in the most non-question-like tone Rex has ever heard.

"Picked it up off of a dead Jedi. That _you_ killed."

"You are not worthy to hold that, Fett. You are not a Jedi."

"Neither are you, idiot. Why don't we both put them down, and we'll solve this with a good old-fashioned shootout," Boba says in a fake-agreeable voice.

Does Boba have a _lightsaber?_

There's a noise that Rex recognizes as two lightsabers hitting each other, and he decides that the answer to that question is probably _yes_ , Boba does have a lightsaber, although where he got it, Rex has no idea.

"You're incredibly predictable, you know," Boba says. Vader doesn't respond, and judging by the sound of several more lightsaber attacks, he picks up his attack.

There's the sound of running footsteps, and then Boba whispers "I'll be coming in hot in a bit, Rex. Just so you know. Vader won't be with me," which answers the question as to why he'd commed Rex in the middle of a fight with _Darth kriffing Vader._

"Rex," Vader says sounding farther away than he was before. Boba swears. "You're talking to Rex?"

"Kriff off!" Boba yells.

"You could join me, Rex. You could be back at my side."

"Shut up, Skywalker," Boba says.

"Anakin Skywalker is dead!" Vader roars. Rex wants to agree with him. Whoever Skywalker turned into, it's not the person Rex knew.

"If I run into you, Rex," Vader continues, "I'll have to kill you. But if you join me, you can live. Everyone else has left me, Rex, except you."

Rex wants to _scream_ , wants to yell that Vader had _killed_ Padmé and Ahsoka, that he'd driven away Kenobi and everyone in Torrent and even Rex himself, but he can't find the words. He can't do _anything_ except stand there in horror, mouth open in a silent gasp as he listens to Boba run for his life.

Vader's voice is gone now, and the only sound coming from is comm is Boba's breathing as he runs through the hallways of whatever Imperial facility he's probably in. A door slams, then another, and Rex hears the sound of footsteps on metal and the whirring of a ship taking off.

"I made it out," Boba says. "I'm flying through hyperspace right now, and when I'm positive that no one's following me and I'm not being tracked, I'll come to Yavin IV. I know no one in the Rebellion trusts me, but there's something that you need to hear about. Something big."

Rex nods, then realizes that _of course_ , Boba can't see him. "Al-alright," he manages, a little shocked by the hoarseness of his voice. Something hits his gauntlet where he's lifted it up to his mouth to talk. A tear, he realizes. He's been crying.

"I'm sorry about Skywalker, Rex," Boba says. "I just found out."

"It's fine," Rex says, but it's not. The Spectres are staring at him. Kanan opens his mouth to talk.

Rex leaves. It's fine.

* * *

The Rebellion doesn't trust Boba. Fine. Whatever. Rex doesn't care.

The Empire's building a death ray. He doesn't care about that either.

Rex knows that he'll feel bad about this later. He knows he'll care later. Right now, it's just…

Ahsoka's dead. Kenobi's gone. Fives and Jesse never made it past the Clone Wars. Skywalker's met a fate worse than death.

And he's supposed to care about the Empire's death ray. It just feels too big. Too far away from Yavin IV, from Rex and his _stupid_ screaming mind.

"Rex," someone says.

Rex looks up. Boba's standing over him.

"You okay?" Boba asks.

Is he? "No," he answers, because he's not. There's no point to pretending he is.

"What's up?" Boba sits down on the edge of the pyramid that Rex is on.

He'd be a hypocrite if he didn't talk, and if there's one thing he's trying not to be, it's a hypocrite.

"Everything just seems so… useless," he says. "I don't know. It feels like I've been fighting this war my entire life - I guess I _have_ , really - and it just feels like nothing ever changes, except for when it gets worse."

"This is about Skywalker, isn't it?"

Rex sighs. "Yeah. I thought he was dead. I thought that the 501st had killed him, and I'd made my peace with that. And then he just shows up again, as _Darth Vader_ , and - and I feel terrible saying this - but I wish he was dead. I wish he'd died as Anakin Skywalker, rather than live on as this-- this _thing_ that's everything he never wanted to become."

"I get what you're thinking," Boba says. "I only met Skywalker a few times, but I could tell that he was a good man. Whoever - _whatever_ \- he is now, it's not the man you knew. From what you've told me about him, if there was any of the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker left in him, he wouldn't be like this."

"That's the point, I guess. Skywalker's gone. So is Ahsoka. So is Fives. It feels like I just keep losing people, and I-I don't want to lose anyone else."

"I'm still here," Boba says.

Rex looks at him. "What?"

"I'm still here. Wolffe and Gregor are safe on Seelos. Your Spectres are fine. Eni and Caya are surviving in the galaxy somewhere. Attie and Cody are recovering, and they're going to be okay. You haven't lost everyone."

Rex sighs. "It just feels like I have. And this war isn't over yet. It's got another few years in it, I can tell. How many other people am I going to lose?"

Boba sits down next to him and lays his head on Rex's shoulder. He gotten a lot more tactile throughout the years. They both have. It's… nice, honestly.

"It's almost over," Boba says. "It may not seem like it, but the Empire is getting desperate. This superweapon is a display of power. They wouldn't be making it if they weren't scared of your Rebellion."

"It could wipe us out in a second."

"But it won't. You've overcome greater odds with less."

"You say that like you're not staying."

Boba sighs. "I wasn't planning on it. Your Rebellion doesn't trust me, not that I blame them. I'd never get anything done, not with them breathing down my neck all the time and triple-checking everything I do."

They would do that, Rex thinks. "They didn't trust Kallus at first," he says, even though they still don't.

Boba gives him a flat look. "This isn't me leaving you. Or your Rebellion. I'm not giving up. This is me recognizing that I can do a lot more on my own."

"Alright," Rex says, and tries not to look disappointed. He knows it's selfish for him to want Boba to stay. Boba's his own person, and it's not like Rex is alone in the galaxy, like he was when they first met. He has people, now.

"We're in the home stretch," Boba says. "This is almost over. There's a literal galaxy's worth of possibilities out there, and since you're not an old man, you can actually explore them."

Rex laughs. "When did we turn to you comforting me?"

"When I gained emotions other than rage. It's called character development."

Yeah, Rex thinks. They're going to be alright.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr at elipson. Come say hi!
> 
> Mando'a Translations  
> jetti - Jedi  
> buir - parent  
> vod'e - siblings, brothers  
> vod - sibling  
> vod'ika - little brother  
> Rex'ika - nickname, 'little Rex'  
> osik - shit
> 
> Y'all I reread meridianpony's fic Dominoes the other day and *spoiler alert if you're planning on reading it* Attie's death made me cry again so fuck everything. He's alive here. i don't care that it doesn't make sense. I'm sad.
> 
> Also, if I conjugated the xe/xem pronouns wrong please correct me, and I'll fix it.


End file.
